Leer for annealing glassware



Dec.. 15, 1931. w so 1,836,054

LEER FOR ANNEALING GLASSWARE Filed Feb. 10, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Dec. 15, 1931. J. N. WILSON LEER- FOR ANNEALING GLASSWARE Filed Feb. 10, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 49%; WWW

Patented Dec. 15, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOHN N. WILSON, OF 'WASHING'ION, PENNSYLVANIA, ASS'IGNOR TO SIMPLE-X ENGI- NEERING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE LEER FOR ANNEALING GLASSWARE Application filed February 10, 1931.

In the annealing of glass articles it is well known that after they have been subjected to the requisite gradual cooling through the range of temperature known as the annealing range, their further cooling may be accomplished much more rapidly without injurious efl'ect provided that such further cooling be carried out with substantial uniformity in all parts of the article. As is also well known, the lower line of the annealing temperature range will vary with the character or composition of the glass, and for such articles as milk bottles and like goods now com monly produced upon a large scale will be about 700 F. For such large scale production of such articles it has beennecessary to provide annealing tunnels or leers of great length, and various means have been employed for shortening the period, and consequently the length of leer required, for the cooling of the articles from the lower annealing temperature to a temperature at which they can be handled conveniently. For example, openings to the atmosphere have been provided in the roof of the ware chamber in the cooling end of the leer, but this has the disadvantage of causing drafts which are liable to crack the ware by uneven local cooling. It has also been a practice to provide hollow walls for'the ware-chamber at the cooling end. and to causecurrents of air to flow through the wall-chamber thus provided, but the latter method of cooling has not been satisfactorily effective. It is the object of the present invention to utilize water, or other suitable or available liquid, as the cooling medium, and to provide apparatus and appliances suitable for that purpose.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of an annealing furnace or leer embodying the invention.' Figure 2 is a top plan view. Figure 3 is a cross-section on the line III-III of Figure 1.

The drawings show merely one section of the leer, at the discharge end, it being understood that this section may be of any desired or convenient length, and that a number of such sections in succession may constitute the cooling end of the leer. The ware-chamber Serial No. 514,742.

1 is shown as enclosed by refractory side, top and bottom walls 2, lined practically through out the length of the chamber, on the sides, top and bottom, by opposite series of hollow metallic cooling boxes or tanks 3, each box comprising an outer vertical side portion 4 and inwardly projectingtop and bottom portions 5 and 6 projecting inwardly to about the center line of the ware chamber, so that the inner walls 7 of the boxes constitute a practically continuous metallic water-cooled wall for the ware-chamber. The glass articles 8 may be supported and carried through the leer by any suitable means, and are herein shown as standing upon an endless traveling belt or carrier 9 of foraminous material, such as wire mesh, supported in this portion of the leer upon rollers 10 and opposite angle bars 11, the return reach of the carrier traveling upon rollers 12 underneath the structure.

The liquid cooling medium, preferably water, may be. supplied to the'boxes 3, and a current therethrough maintained, by any suitable means, and through any appropriate connections. The water may be pumped from a reservoir such as is maintained at many glass factories, into the pipe 18 at m, passed through the series of boxes on the opposite sides of the ware-chamber, and returned through the waste-pipe 13 to the reservoir. Or by closing the cock 14 (Figure 1) the water from the boxes may be pumped through the pump 15 and the radiator or cooler 16 and pipe 17 back through the boxes in a closed system. The water is shown as introduced into the last or outer box 3a on each side ofthe ware-chamber, whence it is fed backwardly through the series on each side to the inner discharge or waste-pipe 13. The water is preferably introduce-d into each box in the series through a pipe 18 leading to the inner nose 19 of the lower arm 6 of the box,

' siphoning of the liquid cooling medium from one box to another, each of the pipes is next succeeding chamber, and a vent in said provided with an open vent-pipe 23 adapted connecting pipe. to discharge into a waste-pipe 24 leading to In testimony whereof I have hereunto set the main discharge 13. Each of the box-inlet my hand. 6 pipes 18 is also provided with a valved dis JOHN N. WILSON.

charge 25 leading to the main discharge.

In order to induce a free circulation and consequently the 'most effective cooling of the atmosphere within the ware-chamber veri tical flues 26 open at top and bottom are formed on the opposite sides within the warechamber, preferably by means of metal webs or walls 27, extending longitudinally on each side, secured at their lower edges to the angle 15 bars 11 and at their upper edges to studs or brackets 28 on the inner walls of the boxes 3. The cooled air within the ware-chamber will flow downwardly through these opposite lateral fiues 26, thence inwardly under and, 2,9 in being heated, up through the carrier 9 and the ware, and then being again cooled at the top of the chamber the flow will proceed laterally and down again through the flues in a continuous cycle on each side of the 2 5. chamber. Ifany of the pieces of ware should be hotter in one part than in another, the air at this point will tend to travel faster upwardly, so tending to keep the temperature across the chamber uniform. The walls 2'? 30 will also prevent the outer rows of ware from being cooled too rapidly.

I claim as my invention: 1. In a leer for annealing glassware, a tunnel having hollow liquid-cooled side, top and 35 bottom walls, comprising upon opposite sides of said tunnel a series of hollow metallic chambers, each chamber having a vertical side-wall section and inwardly-projecting bottom and top sections, and means for main- 40. taining a current of liquid through said chambers having an inlet at the bottom and an outlet at the top of each of said chambers.

2. In a leer for annealing glassware, a tunnel having hollow liquid-cooled side, top and 45 bottom walls, comprising upon opposite sides 9 of said tunnel v a series of hollow metallic chambers, each chamber having a vertical side-wall section and inwardly-proj ecting bottom and top sections, and means for main- 50 taining a current of liquid through said chambers having an inlet into the inner end of the bottom section and an outlet at the top of each of said chambers.

55 3. In a leer for annealing glassware, a tunnel having hollow liquid-cooled side, top and bottom walls, comprising upon opposite sides of said tunnel a series of hollow metallic chambers, each chamber having a vertical 60 side-wall section and inwardly-projecting bottom and top sections, means for maintaining a current of liquid'through said chambers having an inlet at the bottom and an outlet at the top of each chamber, a pipe connecting 65 the outlet of one chamber to the inlet of the 

